BREAKING NEWS:

On Tuesday, December 20, 2016, New York’s highest appeals court ruled that radio companies like SiriusXM need not pay to play so-called pre-1972 recordings over the air. This is a huge reversal in a years-long battle by record labels and artists to win back their royalties from their early works created before 1972.

Artists have been fighting for protection of their creations in court for more than three years over whether radio stations and web streamers must pay for their efforts. This is an unsettled legal question because tunes recorded before 1972 are protected by a murky web of legislation that must now be addressed on the Federal level by Congress through the efforts of organizations like this, as well as the Musicians Unions.

This is indeed another blow to the creators of intellectual property.

"You cannot say you support the arts unless you support the artists' right to support themselves."